Tasha Dougé (Canarsie) is a Bronx-based multidisciplinary artist and cultural enthusiast. Her body of work activates conversations around women empowerment, health advocacy, sexual education, and Black community pride. Tasha believes it is fundamental to her artistic practice to shift narratives to depict a more holistic description of who we are and what we have contributed. Her art is a tool to exercise expression, enact empowerment and serve as a bridge to connect and highlight those that may feel excluded and/or overlooked. By creating provocative works that elicit authentic, raw and at times, uncomfortable feelings, Tasha aims to spark open and honest conversations that lead to change and REFORM.

As part of  her Lakou NOU 2019 residency, Tasha is developing programming focused on uplifting the significance of joumou (“pumpkin” in Haitian Kreyòl) as a tool to highlight, illuminate, introduce and re-introduce its significance and retell the story of the Haitian Revolution. The Roots Garden (located inside the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum’s garden) is about storytelling and encouraging a connection back to the land by actively cultivating Haitian pride and collective memory.  Reclaiming urban, and specifically the Haitian Diaspora community’s connection to land will work to restore and replenish ancestral, spiritual and collective wealth. Shared experiences in land stewardship, community health, creative expression, and collective investment will link to historic and contemporary efforts towards self-liberation.

Roots Garden activations will take place throughout the duration of the joumou gardening season (August – December). If you are interested in volunteering at the Roots Garden, please contact Tasha Dougé at con.vher.sa.tions2015 [at] gmail.com